A Floating Power Plant (FPP) is a power generation unit that is located on a platform, floating on a water body. Mostly the remote power generator is located on an existing cargo ship. They are self-driven and can be connected to the grid, whenever required, so end-users can use these as primary power sources as well as secondary power sources. There can be stationary floating platform power plants, which can be established in lakes or shallow waters near seashores and these floating power plants can be either solar energy or wind energy based.
According to Ken Research analysis, the floating power plant market in Europe is expected to grow at a rate of about 10% CAGR over the next five years (2022-2027) and reach US$ 740 Mn by 2027, due to the rising demand for clean energy sources, lack of power infrastructure, and need for secondary power sources.
- Awareness of clean energy is increasing around the globe day by day and many countries want to become carbon neutral in the future. Europe is investing more to make its power sector carbon neutral. Floating power plants are mobile in nature so they can be transported to any remote location near the sea or ocean and can supply power. Demand for power is increasing simultaneously with the shortage of power infrastructure. Floating Power Plants don’t require that much infrastructure and it eliminates the risk of land acquisition. These reasons are driving the growth of the Floating Power Plant market in Europe. According to Eurostat, the production of electricity from Renewable energy and biogas sources in the EU increased from 0.94 million GWh in 2018 to 1.07 million GWh in 2021.
- However Floating Power Plants involve high initial costs and as they float in the ocean and deep sea, they are uniquely vulnerable to certain weather phenomena, which is a major barrier for the Floating Power Plant market. For Instance, the Cost of a floating offshore wind project is 2X that of a fixed bottom offshore project and offshore wind turbines are significantly more expensive at 7.22 to 12.11 US$ /KWh whereas onshore wind turbines range between 3.93 and 8.27 US$ /KWh.
- The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the renewable energy sector. One of the major problems was the disruption in the delivery of components and modules to the manufacturers. Unlike conventional power plants, floating power plant requires less infrastructure and less time to supply power as well as they are mobile and flexible.
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Key Trends by Market Segment
By Power Source Type: The Renewable segment is estimated to hold the largest market share of Europe’s Floating Power Plant market.
Renewable floating plants’ market share is more and increasing as they are most environment neutral. Due to almost zero emissions, countries and other private energy producers are showing more interest in renewable Floating Power Plants.
- In July 2022, Madrid-based EDP Renewables, the world’s fourth largest renewable energy producer, announced that it has started operating its floating solar power park in Alqueva, Portugal, which generates electricity with 12,000 photovoltaic panels spread over four hectares.
- In March 2022, ACCIONA Energía acquired a 24% stake in France-based start-up Eolink, a developer of floating foundations for offshore wind farms. The investment will help Eolink boost its floating offshore wind technology and benefit Acciona Energia as such the technology is intended to be suitable for offshore wind installations in countries such as Spain and Portugal.
By Platform Types: Floating Power barges segment is expected to be the highest-growing segment. Floating barges are used for both renewable and non-renewable segments hence it is growing at the highest pace.
- In September 2021, Lincoln and SNC-Lavalin’s Atkins business partnered to bring together the technology and project execution expertise needed to make floating structures or substations a reality.
- In June 2021, Hitachi ABB Power Grid announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BW Ideol, a global leader and internationally recognized leader in floating offshore wind. The agreement pertains to the global acceleration of offering market-ready floating substations and solutions.
By Connectivity: The On-grid segment holds the largest market share in 2021 in Europe’s Floating Power Plant Market. Whereas the Off-grid segment will remain much smaller than the On-grid segment during the forecast period.
- An on-grid power system is an electricity generation system where it is connected to the utility grid whereas an off-grid system does not connect to the power grid and requires battery storage.
- In July 2020, a Spanish energy firm has announced the inauguration of Spain’s first on-grid floating solar plant on the Sierra Brava reservoir, in Extramadura.
By Capacity: The 100.1MW-250 MW capacity segment is estimated to account for the largest market share in Europe’s Floating Power Plant Market during the forecast period.
- The 20.1 MW to 100 MW capacity segment is estimated to be the fastest growing segment, owing to the increase in projects for floating solar and wind.
- Dutch solar project developer Groeneleven, a unit of German renewable energy company Baywa re, has begun construction on a 41 MW dc floating solar plant located on a former sand extraction lake in Selingen in the Dutch province of Groningen.
By Geography: The United Kingdom accounted for the largest share of total Europe Floating Power Plant market in 2021.
- The Netherlands is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period, followed closely by France and Sweden, owing primarily to floating solar and floating wind capacity growth. For instance, in February 2022, a 14.7MWp floating solar plant has been commissioned in Peyrolles-en-Provence, in the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône by Boralex.
- In addition, Simply Blue Group unveils multi-gigawatt Floating Wind projects in Sweden. A 2 GW Skidbladner floating wind project in the South-East of Stockholm and the 2.75 GW Herkules project in the Southeast of the Island of Gotland is planned.
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Competitive Landscape
- The Europe Floating Power Plant market is highly competitive with ~100 players which include globally diversified players, regional players as well as a large number of country-niche players Most of the country-niche players are floating structure manufacturers.
- Large global players control about 60% of the market in terms of revenue, while regional players hold the second largest share. Some of the major players in the market include General Electric, Siemens, Ciel et Terre, Principle Power Inc., Man Energy Solutions SE, BW Ideol, SeaTwirl, Floating Power Plant A/S, Wärtsilä, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Caterpillar, Vestas and among others.
- The leading global companies such as General Electric, Ciel ET teare, Vestas, and BW Ideol are highly focused on providing a significant number of renewable floating power plants that can be used across Europe by independent power producers, public utilities, and more.
Recent Developments Related to Major Players
- In June 2021, Siemens Gamesa and Siemens Energy have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) with Odfjell Oceanwind to collaborate on the development of Mobile Offshore Wind Units for uninterrupted power supply.
- In May 2021, GE researchers unveiled that it is partnering with Glosten to design and develop advanced controls to support a 12 MW floating offshore wind turbine. This will lead the floating offshore wind industry toward becoming a commercially viable solution.
- In Nov 2021, Ocean Winds (a joint venture between ENGIE and EDP Renewables) and Principle Power have entered into a collaboration to work on the design of the floating platforms for France’s first commercial-scale floating wind tender.
- In December 2021, Wison Offshore & Marine has signed a deal with MAN Energy Solutions to collaborate on power barge and floating LNG-to-power projects worldwide.
- In May 2022, BW Ideol, JERA, and ADEME Investissement sign an investment agreement for financing the co-development of offshore wind projects using BW Ideol’s patented Damping Pool technology over the next 5 years. This will lead to the development of many new floating offshore power plants in Europe.
- In May 2019, Floating Power Plant A/S signed a memorandum of understanding with The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) to investigate and develop a potential deployment of Floating Power Plant’s technology in the PLOCAN test facilities in Gran Canaria. This will demonstrate the commercial-scale version of their hybrid floating wind and wave energy device.
Conclusion
Europe Floating Power Plant market will continue exponential growth during the forecast period primarily driven by rising demand for clean energy from all major industry sectors and countries to become carbon neutral and to solve the lack of power infrastructure issue. Though the market is highly competitive with ~100 participants, few global players control the dominant share and regional players also hold a significant share.
Ken Research has published a report titled Europe Floating Power Plant Market Size, Segments, Outlook and Revenue Forecast 2022-2027 That is segmented by Power Source Type, Platform Type, Connectivity, and Capacity. In addition, the report also covers market size and forecasts for the region’s six major countries’ Floating Power Plant markets. The revenue used to size and forecast the market for each segment is US million.
Market Taxonomy
By Power Source Type
Renewable
Floating Solar Panel,
Offshore Wind Turbines
Non-Renewable
Gas turbines,
IC engines
By Platform Type
Floating Structures
Power Barges
Power Ships
By Connectivity
On-grid
Off-grid
By Capacity
1 MW- 5MW
5.1 MW- 20 MW
20.1 MW-100 MW
100.1 MW-250 MW
Above 250 MW
By Country
Germany
U.K.
France
Spain
Sweden
The Netherlands
Rest of Europe
Russia
Denmark
Italy
Portugal
Others
